We hear it a lot. "Follow your heart." ​But what does it mean to “market with heart?”

To me, marketing with heart, or truth-telling, is a way to BE REAL and WHO WE TRULY ARE when sharing our offerings. It's a new way to market, and it's VERY effective. Here's why:

Many marketing experts tell us to paint a façade, create an illusion, or a fantasy that grabs people’s attention, then push on their pain points in a way that manipulates their fears so they will buy your thing.

To my eyes and ears, this is unethical and needs to stop. It also feels icky.

Why not be who we are?

I believe that who we are is ENOUGH. Actually, more than enough. Each of us carries a collection of unique and compelling life experiences and beautiful story arcs that illustrate challenges overcome, lessons learned, and medicine to share. It's all inside us!

Yet so many of us wrestle with how to describe our work, how to convey the passion we feel for it, how to draw people in, and how to generate interest so we can keep building our vision so it not only supports the clients we serve, but also supports us creatively and financially.

We wrestle because we want to do it right, without resorting to unethical tactics that prey on people's fears. And we certainly don't want to exploit ourselves by sharing details from our lives that shock people into action.

What if, instead of preying on their fears, we inspire their hearts?

To market with heart asks us to drop the façade, align with our deeper purpose, then build our marketing platform from there.

GREAT NEWS! I'm leading a workshop on "Marketing With Heart" ​in February. Scroll down for more details.

​When we tap into our inner fire (note: all entrepreneurs have this, it’s what fuels us), we find words that tell the origin stories of our heart-work. And this is the stuff that resonates with people and draws them in. And far from icky, it feels solid, plugged in, passionate – and magnetic. These are the feelings we’re aiming for!Uncovering our origin stories takes courage and tenderness. Sometimes it takes awhile for the seeds of our stories to sprout and grow. Is it worth the effort? I say YES.

I just heard from a client this week who worked with me on her brand story two years ago. She told me she is just now starting to feel a sense of change and expansion (in her life and business) as a result of that work. Things are clicking into place for her, and she's feeling more confident than ever.

Yes, it's worth the effort. This kind of change is deep and rooted.Our truth and our stories form the foundational soil from which our important, life-changing work in the world grows. We are the change-makers the world needs now. Let’s not shy away from our stories and truth.​

NEW WORKSHOP: Marketing with Heart

Join me in Bloomington, IN for this special workshop for independent, entrepreneurial women! Together, we'll learn how to…

befriend the marketing beast

explore our business origin stories

create a marketing message that resonates and brings more business to us.

​Last weekend I spent time with a group of women in the woods studying wholeheartedness and the healer archetype (from The Four-Fold Way, by Angeles Arrien).

We examined the following quote by poet David Whyte:

“You know that the antidote to exhaustion is not necessarily rest? The antidote to exhaustion is wholeheartedness.”

Now that's a quote you can chew on, right?

It invites us to take a closer look when we're feeling exhausted and burnt out. It's an opportunity to ask ourselves, "am I really tired, or have I become disconnected from my creative passion?"

Of course, there are times when we're experiencing that bone-deep exhaustion so many women feel at the end of a long day – taking care of others, parenting our children, keeping our home, preparing meals, and maintaining a career – all in a culture where we’re paid less and expected to do more than our male counterparts.

Try telling a bone-deep exhausted woman she doesn’t need to rest; she just needs open her heart a little more. Um…no. Sometimes we just need to rest.

And then there are times when opening our hearts can tap us into a deeper wellspring of energy.

For entrepreneurs, here's a way to open your heart that's quite effective:

Remember your WHY.

HERE'S HOW…

Ask yourself why you're in business to begin with. What about it makes your heart sing? What do you love to help others with?

Write out your top 3-5 core messages and keep them on your desk. Then, when you're feeling disillusioned, you can look at your list and remember your Why.

Defining your core messages is a process. If you're feeling stuck, reach out for help. To see an example of my core messages, click here.

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CLIENT SPOTLIGHT

Please join me in congratulating my client, Kathy Mickel, on her new website!

Kathy's WHY is to help others rediscover their direction and meaning in life. Her story describes how she found her own direction and the courage to leave the corporate bubble to start her own yoga coaching and retreat practice.

WooHoo - I'm very excited to share this with you. I was recently interviewed on the Creative Soul Mamas podcast on the topic of Storytelling! Host Sonja Balzarolo and I covered a lot of territory, including:

I'm curious: after listening to this podcast, let me know what you LOVED to do as a child. How does it manifest in the work you're doing in the world today? Feel free to comment below or send me a message.​

Kim Evans Studio helps women entrepreneurs stand out in a crowded marketplace with powerful truth-telling that inspires action. I work with women who are leaving the corporate world to start their own creative or wellness practice, or who've been in business for awhile and are ready to take their website and message to the next level. I also coach writers who are committed to writing a memoir. It would be my honor to work with you.Click here to learn more.

Kim Evans,Author and Branding Consultant​​I am passionate about helping women write their truth and share their message. I offer personalized coaching programs designed to help soulful entrepreneurs tap their inner wisdom, write the stories they need to tell, and build a business they love.